Tag Archives: Ask Me Anything

Pixel Scroll 8/15/25 Bad Moon Rising, Pixels On The Prowl. Stay Inside

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(1) NOT TO BE MISSED. Mark Loney photographed this Sistah Scifi Book Vending Machine in the Afrofuturism display at the Seattle Worldcon.

(2) YOU ARE THERE. Juan Sanmiguel is doing daily reports at the Rainbow War Blog: “Seattle Day 7, Seattle Worldcon 2025 Day 2”. Photos too!

…Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford had a interesting conversation about writing and the state of our culture. Despite the challenges we face there is always hope. Alexander James Adams gave a powerful concert and gave the audience behind the scenes info on the work….

(3) OCTOTHORPE. Episode 141 of the Octothorpe podcast, “A Whole Episode Without Business Meeting Content”, is hosted by John Coxon, Alison Scott, Liz Batty, and Pinocchio.

The title of this episode is a barefaced lie, as we read your letters and then dive into discussion of the Business Meeting. But fear not! We also do mention science fiction! Well, John does; Alison and Liz hadn’t read any this week.  

An uncorrected transcript is available here.

A photograph of a cocktail bar at Battersea Power Station. The words “Control Room B” are above the cocktail bar, and the words “Octothorpe 141” overlaid in similar style.

 (4) HALL OF FAME HARDWARE. Vincent Docherty, who was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame during Seattle Worldcon 2025’s Opening Ceremonies, received his award plaque today and took a moment to pose for a photo.

Vincent Docherty shown with his award plaque, which arrived on August 15.

(5) STOKERCON GOHS. The Horror Writers Association’s StokerCon 2026 will be held at the Westin Pittsburgh from June 4 to June 7, 2026.

This will be StokerCon 10, a milestone for us to celebrate an occasion to look back on the history of the convention and how it has grown and flourished through the decade.  It is also a moment to think ahead and look to 2027 where we recognize 40 years of the HWA. So taking a page from our history and the years before StokerCon, we will be inviting you to join us in the same location for both 2026 and 2027 – a place that is dedicated to preserving the history of our organization and genre and welcome you back to Pittsburgh!

We are excited to embrace the theme of recognizing our history while also using the stability of one location and the planning process to explore ways to grow and change the best celebration of the genre we love.

Guests of Honor so far include:

Linda D. Addison
Ann VanderMeer
John Shirley
Billy Martin

The con will be back in Pittsburgh in 2027 at the same hotel.

(6) ASK SAPKOWSKI ANYTHING. Reddit’s r/Fantasy is collecting questions for an “Asynchronous AMA: Ask Andrzej Sapkowski Anything!” His answers will be posted September 30.

Andrzej Sapkowski is the author of the legendary Witcher book series, the worldwide sensation that inspired the hit video game and blockbuster Netflix series. For the first time ever, he’s taking questions from the fantasy readers of Reddit!

We (Andrzej’s US publisher, Orbit) will gather your questions and send them to Andrzej. Answers to select questions will be posted on September 30, the publication date for the brand-new Witcher novel Crossroads of Ravens.

Crossroads of Ravens is a new standalone novel following fantasy’s most beloved monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia, on his first steps towards becoming a legend. Before he was the White Wolf or the Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia was simply a fresh graduate of Kaer Morhen, stepping into a world that neither understands nor welcomes his kind.

(7) SIMULTANEOUS TIMES. Space Cowboy Books of Joshua Tree, CA presents episode 90 of the Simultaneous Times podcast with Tara Campbell & Brandon Case.

Stories featured in this episode:

  • “Just Let Me Help” by Tara Campbell; with music by Phog Masheeen. Read by the Jenna Hanchey
  • “Jackpot God” by Brandon Case; with music by TSG; Read by Jean-Paul Garnier

Theme music by Dain Luscombe.

(8) CHATTACON’S DEMISE. Tennessee convention Chattacon is calling it quits after 2025: G “Goodbye. from Chattacon”.

After fifty incredible years of celebrating Science Fiction and the literary community of the Southeast in Chattanooga, it is with both deep gratitude and heavy hearts that we announce that Chattacon will not be continuing beyond 2025.

This decision was not made lightly. The board of Chattacon, together with Chattanooga Science Fiction Fans, Inc., (CSFF, Inc) has spent considerable time and reflection exploring every possible path forward. Unfortunately, the Doubletree Hotel that has served as our home for the past six years will be undergoing significant renovations and will not be available for our 2026 event.

Despite our best efforts to secure a new venue, we were unable to find an alternative location that met both our logistical and financial conditions. While we could have chosen a smaller venue, we did not want to present to you anything less than what you have come to expect from Chattacon.

We understand how much this convention has meant to our attendees, guests, volunteers, and staff—many of whom have been part of this event for literally decades. The energy, passion, and sense of belonging that all of you have brought to Chattacon are what made it truly special.

Together, we’ve created memories, built friendships, and fostered a love of speculative fiction that spans generations.

To those who have already purchased memberships for 2026 or purchased tables in the Dealer’s Room, we will be issuing full refunds over the course of the next month. We appreciate your patience as we complete this process.

In the spirit of our mission, CSFF, Inc. will be donating any remaining proceeds to charities in our community that continue to promote the joy of reading, writing, and discovery.

Although Chattacon is coming to a close, our journey together doesn’t end here. We look forward to crossing paths with many of you at other conventions and events.

Thank you for fifty extraordinary years!

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Lis Carey.]

August 15, 1933 — Bĵo Trimble, 92.

Bĵo was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma, in 1933, discovered sf fandom in 1952. She was serving in the US Navy, at the Great Lakes Naval Station, and saw an announcement in Astounding Science Fiction about the science fiction convention that weekend in Chicago—the 10th Worldcon, the one we now call Chicon II, though at the time it had no official name. The largest Worldcon ever at the time, with 870 members, it was a great place for a smart and friendly young woman to meet people and make connections in fandom. Her new acquaintances included Robert Bloch, Willy Ley, August Derleth, and Harlan Ellison.

John and Bjo Trimble

When it was discovered that she was an artist and cartoonist, she was recruited to provide illustrations for fanzines, sealing her fate. She claims to have met her husband, John Griffin Trimble, under Forrest J Ackerman’s piano, during a particularly crowded party. He was serving in the US Air Force, and they traded Stupid Officer Stories.

But as we all know, this was mere prelude. Bĵo was active in LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fiction Society), and organized a fashion show for Solacon (the 16th Worldcon). In 1960, she started Project Art Show, which brought the first modern, organized art show at a science fiction convention to Pittcon, the 1960 Worldcon. Bĵo continued the project, bringing art shows to Worldcons and other conventions. By 1969, Project Art Show had become The International Science-Fantasy Art Exhibition (ISFAE), and she was judging and awarding prizes, as well as organizing the art shows.

But in 1968, Bĵo started turning her attention to a new fannish interest–Star Trek. Bĵo and John Trimble were active in the letter-writing campaign credited with getting the show a third season, after it was initially canceled after its second season. They also helped convince NASA to name the first of the Space Shuttles Enterprise, although that was a test vehicle never intended for space flight.

Bĵo was a major contributor to the Star Trek Concordance, containing cross-referenced details on every character, setting, event and device in every episode of the original Star Trek, and, in later editions of the book, its animated incarnation, and the Star Trek films. Originally self-published, it got a mass market publication by Ballantine Books in 1976, and an updated edition by Citadel Press in 1995. On the Good Ship Enterprise: My 15 Years with Star Trek, her memoir of her experiences in Star Trek fandom, was published in 1982.

Bĵo was a Guest of Honor at Dragon Con, which was also the 6th North American Science Fiction Convention, in 1995. Bĵo and John Trimble were Fan Guests of Honor at ConJosé, the 60th Worldcon. Bĵo, or Bĵo and John, were also honored at many Star Trek and other science fiction conventions.

 In addition, Bĵo and John Trimble were Baron and Baroness of the Society for Creative Anachronism’s Barony of the Angels, from September 2008 to January 2012. That’s at least fandom adjacent, right?

 Sadly, John died in April 2024, but Bĵo is still with us. Her contributions to fandom will remain.

NOTE: Bĵo’s daughter put out a call for birthday cards. Here’s the address:

Betty Trimble
Cal Vet Home West LA
RCFE, Room C318L, 11500 Nimitz Ave.
West Los Angeles, CA 90049 United States

(10) COMICS SECTION.

(11) HOLMES AND WATSON ON CBS. CrimeReads says “Elementary is a Masterclass in Sherlock Holmes Adaptation”.

…Much of the initial criticism leveled at Elementary centered on the accusation that the series was the United States’s cheap ploy to profit off of BBC Sherlock’s success. The latter series was rapidly gaining momentum among American audiences, but its gaps between seasons were long and unpredictable. When CBS was unable to obtain rights to the British series, Elementary was born. Sherlock fans were understandably wary, fueled by the BBC series’ creators who threatened to sue. When Lucy Liu was cast as Watson, backlash was heated and often tinged with misogyny and racism. Among some of Elementary’s critics, casting an Asian-American actress in the role of Watson was considered further evidence of the series’ attempt to proffer a superficial distinction from its British parallel. But those interpretations (many of which were lobbed before the first episode aired), turned out to be inconsistent with where the series went throughout its seven years….

… Over the course of the first season, a volatile Holmes attempts to reconstruct his life in the Big Apple. By his side is the steadfast Joan Watson. Elementary’s master stroke is its portrayal of this partnership and its striking development through the series. When we meet Watson, she’s almost as lost as Holmes: a surgeon-cum-sober companion, she doesn’t especially relish her career, but she’s committed to helping others. Although their fledgling relationship starts on rocky ground, it organically evolves into a beautifully devoted friendship. When Holmes offers Watson to train her as a detective, he proposes that she leave behind sober companionship for a partnership of equals.

Too often reduced to a gimmick, Elementary’s decision to cast a woman as Watson is instead an incisive excavation of Holmes’s canonical misogyny….

[Thanks to Mark Roth-Whitworth, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Lis Carey, Mark Loney, Jean-Paul Garnier, Rich Lynch, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, and SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Cat Eldridge.]

Pixel Scroll 5/14/25 First Shalt Thou Take Out The Holy Pixel

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(1) INAUGURAL CLIMATE FICTION PRIZE. “And So I Roar wins Climate Fiction Prize 2025”. The Climate Fiction Prize is a new literary prize that celebrates the most inspiring novels tackling the climate crisis. The Prize, worth £10,000, was awarded at a ceremony in London, on May 14.

Abi Daré has won the inaugural Climate Fiction Prize for And so I Roar (Sceptre, Hodder). The novel follows fourteen-year-old Adunni from her life in Lagos, where she is excited to finally enroll in school, to her home village where she is summoned to face charges for events that are in fact caused by climate change.

“A book of real energy and passion which both horrifies and entertains with a cast of compelling characters, a story of how the climate crisis can provoke social crisis where often women and children are the victims. Despite the tragedy, Abi Daré holds faith in the strength of individuals and relationships and her hopefulness leaves us inspired.”

– Madeleine Bunting, Chair of Judges

(2) MARTHA WELLS Q&A. Martha Wells did a Reddit r/television Ask Me Anything today. You can read the answers here: “This is Martha Wells, a four-time Hugo, two-time Nebula, and five-time Locus Award winner for The Murderbot Diaries, a book series published by Tordotcom. Ask Me Anything”.

Here’s one exchange.

BiasCutTweed

I have two pedantic world building questions I would love to ask though, if you’re game to answer:

  • Is there any sort of nominal governance structure in the Corporation Rim? Like just enough to support a judicial and monetary system, and the regulatory stuff that occasionally gets mentioned. I know Murderbot could absolutely give zero damns and it’s our narrator but I’m weirdly curious.
  • There are alien remnants everywhere but we never see any living advanced aliens. Do they exist? Might we ever?
  • And a show-specific question – did you/they ever consider Fleabag-style 4th wall breaks for Murderbot’s inner thoughts? Or would that be way too much eye contact for it?

marthawellswriter

  1. There is basically a committee structure that handles that stuff, with different people from various dominant corporations being appointed to it, and it works about as well as you might expect.
  2. They might still exist, but I don’t think I’d take the story in that direction.
  3. I think they did early on, because I saw some auditions that used it, but I actually think the voiceover works much better and I’m glad they went with it.

(3) WIL WHEATON’S FAVES. JustWatch has teamed up with sci-fi icon Wil Wheaton to spotlight his all-time favorite science fiction movies and TV shows in a newly released editorial feature on JustWatch.com.

In this exclusive Why to Watch editorial, Wheaton shares a curated list of titles that have shaped his lifelong love of science fiction. From intergalactic epics to overlooked cult gems, the collection offers fans a rare peek into the streaming watchlist of one of pop culture’s most enduring sci-fi personalities. “Wil Wheaton’s Top 6 Sci-Fi Movies & Shows That Are Not Star Trek”.

Here is perhaps his most obscure pick.

Sugar (2024)

Wheaton also loves the cult Apple TV+ series Sugar. “It’s one of the great sci-fi series of the last five years that I never really heard people talk about,” the actor says. The show is a noir thriller that blends in fantastic sci-fi elements and follows a private investigator (Colin Farrell) who has a secret of his own. “I loved it,” Wheaton continued, “I thought it was brilliant and extremely well-done.”

(4) APPOINTMENT VIEWING. Will British cultural icon ITV be sold? “ITV Sale Speculation: Inside Deal Everyone And No One Is Talking About” at Deadline.

If you’ve watched ITV’s The Assembly, you will know that it involves stars like Danny Dyer and David Tennant subjecting themselves to no-holds-barred questions from a captivating cast of neurodivergent interrogators. It makes for illuminating viewing, producing genuine revelations from its disarmed but obliging subjects, who enter the show in a spirit of openness. 

Far from the cameras, in a colorless room in the basement of London’s 11 Cavendish Square townhouse on Tuesday, ITV chairman Andrew Cosslett was similarly squirming in the face of questioning, with less comical results. Chairing ITV’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), Cosslett was grilled, almost heckled, by an angry shareholder demanding to know when the British broadcaster’s 78p share price will rise after flatlining for more than three years.

“This is not good enough, you must have some idea, you guys are very highly paid,” said the shareholder. Cosslett struggled to answer, reaching for what by now feels like an old fail-safe. “If you can explain to me what Donald Trump will do next, then maybe I could,” he said.

Questions around ITV’s sticky share price — Cosslett and ITV boss Carolyn McCall faced three during the 45-minute AGM alone — are inextricably linked to the constant mutterings around its potential sale. On this matter, ITV has been a little less forthcoming with answers than the celeb bookings on The Assembly. The company that gave the world Downton Abbey has been finding new ways to say “no comment” to inquiries about whether it will submit to suitors, including RedBird IMI and Banijay….

(5) MISSING BUT NOT NECESSARILY LOST. “Doctor Who archive legend says missing episodes ‘certainly’ exist in private collections” – quotes in Radio Times.

With 97 of the missing Doctor Who episodes still unaccounted for, Sue Malden, the BBC’s first archive selector who has worked to find episodes across the years, has assured fans that she believes some “certainly” still exist in private collections.

Twenty-six stories from the show’s first six years are currently incomplete, because the BBC erased or reused tapes in the 1960s and 1970s to save storage space and costs. In recent years some of these episodes have now been recreated via animation, as tapes of audio recordings have survived for every episode.

Still, there remains hope amongst fans that other full episodes could still exist to this day, something Malden has suggested is a very real possibility.

Speaking at the RECOVERED festival at the Phoenix Cinema and Art Centre in Leicester, hosted by Film is Fabulous!, Malden was asked about the current situation regarding missing Doctor Who episodes.

Malden said: “As far as Doctor Who goes, we do not have a statement or anything to make at the moment. We do know fairly certainly that there are episodes missing in private collections. Some members of the Film is Fabulous! team are in a considerably significant position to help on that.”…

(6) FINAL MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] My summary: Mostly glowing reviews, especially about the action sequences. Some grumbles about the runtime and convoluted plot. “Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning First Reactions” in the Hollywood Reporter.

“Tom Cruise has done it again!” That’s the very early verdict from press screenings for the Hollywood icon’s latest film, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, with the film variously described as “astonishing,” “jaw-dropping,” “insane” and the “action movie of the summer.”

Following a series of press screenings, first reactions to Final Reckoning are hitting social media after the embargo lifted on Monday night. The social media reactions come ahead of official critics’ reviews, which drop on Wednesday.

The eighth film in the long-running Paramount Pictures spy action franchise, Final Reckoning has a lot riding on it for the studio as well as the domestic box office. In November 2024, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the project has had a long and difficult journey, with a budget approaching a hefty $400 million amid production delays — partly due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes — making it one of the most expensive films ever made….

(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Paul Weimer.]

May 14, 1944 — George Lucas, 81.

By Paul Weimer: To talk about George Lucas for me is to first talk about Star Wars. 

Star Wars lurked in my imagination long before seeing any of it. I didn’t see Star Wars in the theater but my younger brother and I got a joint Christmas gift of a Death Star playset, and a few action figures. We only had the commercials for the set to go on, not Lucas’ own vision, and so our playing of the set led to very strange scenarios having nothing to do with the movie. 

It would not be until 1983, and Return of the Jedi, that I saw a George Lucas movie at all, and in the theater. I saw the magic of his world, having only the fuzziest idea of the first two movies, but I was swept along. This shows the power of Lucas harnessing the power of serial fiction to allow watchers to get in on the action quickly. This is something the Marvel cinematic universe could still learn from Lucas today. It’s not just the crawls at the beginning, its the economy of storytelling, the establishment of characters that let you hit the ground running. 

Like Star Wars, I missed the first Indiana Jones movie in theaters, but did see Temple of Doom (Lucas did not direct but his story was the basis of the film). And of course, too, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Same principle applies. Early Lucas knew the power of crafting episodic sequels and making them work. 

In keeping with those films, Lucas was also responsible for getting me hooked into the idea of the Hero’s Journey, since I read the Joseph Campbell book The Power of Myth thanks to Lucas’ forward in the book. Sure, the Hero’s Journey is a very outdated, patriarchal and restrictive story framework but it was my first real engagement with the nature and form of stories. Lucas helped introduce me to that whole new world. 

However, I would not see another Lucas directed film until the late 1990’s…but that is another story, one that deserves its own entry.

George Lucas with his wife, Mellody Hobson

(8) COMICS SECTION.

  • Bliss has a child “helpfully” point something out.
  • Mike de Jour finds that word doesn’t mean what you think it means. 
  • Mutts – did he answer the question? 
  • Rubes can’t come up with an original excuse. 
  • Wumo might be an annoying fan. 

(9) DE-RE-BRANDING. The Hollywood Reporter says “Warners Is Changing Max’s Name Again — Back to HBO Max”. Sigh. Please just make up your mind.

… Thirty minutes into Wednesday’s Warner Bros. Discovery upfront, Bloys revealed the name change to media buyers. The news was met with laughter, light applause and exactly one whistle. Bloys did follow with a solid joke: “I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around.”…

(10) COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO BOOK BURNING. “Man burns 100 library books on social media; residents donate 1,000 more” on News 5 Cleveland.

Members of an Interfaith Group Against Hate (IGAH) gathered outside a Northeast Ohio church to stand united against hate. This comes after reports that a man checked out 100 books related to race, religion, and LGBTQ+ topics from the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Beachwood — then burned them in a video posted to social media.

View the news video here.

(11) IRONHEART. Gizmodo lets everyone know “Finally, the First Ironheart Trailer Is Here”.

… Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced audiences to Riri Williams (Dominque Thorne), an MIT genius who built her own Iron Man-esque armored suit and helped the Wakandans fight the Talokanil.

She may have left her suit behind in Wakanda, but she hasn’t given up trying to make new ones that truly establish her as the next big talent. While back home in Chicago, she crosses paths with Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), a misfit with a hood that lets him use dark magic and wants her to be a part of what he’s building up. Things seem good at first, but once she starts getting wise to the shadier parts of his dealings, Riri’s gotta armor up and protect Chicago and her loved ones….

(12) SUPER TRAILER PARK. “Superman’s Full Trailer Gives Us Our Best Look Yet at DC’s New Era” reports Gizmodo.

…[James] Gunn teased the trailer on social media as the “full trailer” he’d been “waiting too long to share.” And indeed, we see Superman facing off with an array of baddies, including a giant scaly monster and several supervillains—including, most intriguingly, a smirking Lex Luthor. He also stops a war and gets in trouble for it with the U.S. government, and gets grilled about it by the toughest journalist he knows: Lois Lane, who definitely knows Clark is Superman this time around…

[Thanks to Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Mark Roth-Whitworth, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, and Chris Barkley for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jayn.]